Blattivorus Chobaut, 1891

Batelka, Jan, 2009, Confirmation of the synonymy of Rhyzostylops with Blattivorus and the description of the male of Blattivorus inquirendus (Coleoptera: Ripiphoridae: Ripidiinae), Acta Entomologica Musei Nationalis Pragae 49 (1), pp. 247-251 : 248

Genus Blattivorus Chobaut, 1891

Blattivorus Chobaut, 1891: 237 . Type species: Rhipidius lusitanicus Gerstaecker, 1855 . Rhyzostylops Silvestri, 1906: 316 , syn. nov. Type species: Rhyzostylops inquirendus Silvestri, 1906 . Rhizostylops: SILVESTRI (1906) : 318. Incorrect original spelling (see below).

Blattivorus was erected by CHOBAUT (1891) as a subgenus of Ripidius to accommodate the species R. lusitanicus Gerstaecker, 1855 , described from a male specimen collected in Portugal. Blattivorus was raised to generic level by CHOBAUT (1904) based on its 10-segmented antennae as opposed to Ripidius , which has 11 antennomeres. Two years later, CHOBAUT (1906) added another new species, B. madagascariensis Chobaut, 1906 . The generic placement of the latter species was, however, questioned by RIKHTER (1949) who suggested that B. madagascariensis might be a representative of another, as yet undescribed genus. Deposition of the type is not known to me and no other specimens of this species are available. Because of its tropical distribution I regard its generic placement as incertae sedis. The third species described in the genus, B. margaritae Rikhter, 1949 from Armenia, is also known from a single male.

Correct original spelling of Rhyzostylops . Two different spellings occur in the original description by SILVESTRI (1906). From 15 incidences of the generic name, the name was spelled 14 times as Rhyzostylops and once (page 318, paragraph ‘Osservazione’) as Rhizostylops . I failed to find any paper solving this discrepancy according to the article 24.2.3. of the Code ( ICZN 1999). Almost all subsequent authors (including BESUCHET 1956, PORTA 1907, RIEK 1955 and ŠVÁCHA 1994) have used Rhyzostylops . Only in a few cases (e.g., in CSIKI 1913 or WINKLER 1924–1932), the spelling ‘ Rhizostylops ’ has been used. I hereby choose ‘ Rhyzostylops ’ as the correct original spelling, thus making Rhizostylops an unavailable name.